Hi, my name is Kat Smith, I'm wife to an amazing man, mom to 4 kick ass kiddos ages 16, 14, 7 and almost 2, owner of Mountain Kids Playschool, and most recently at just 36 years old I was diagnosed with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer. Soon I will begin aggressive treatment including chemotherapy and hormone therapy, and I have already undergone many tests, scans, and surgery. As a result I have been unable to continue working, my husband is/will be missing work to take me to my many appointments and to care for me, and there will be considerable costs for the treatment and frequent travel to my cancer center 90min away.

I have always been a stubborn and independent person, the first to offer help but the last to ever ask for it, but I am realizing that I can't do that this time. Any help that you can give, no matter the size, is greatly appreciated and will allow myself and our family to focus on my treatment and health without the added stress of unpaid bills while I am unable to work. I will eventually receive some social security income but there is a five month wait for that to go into effect and we will need help to make it to that point.

For those who haven't heard my story so far, here it is:

At the end of Nov 2021 I found a lump in my breast and did what everyone always says, I went to my doctor right away.

They said it was likely a clogged duct since I was still nursing my youngest child Kian, or possibly a cyst. Long story short I returned multiple times with increasing symptoms over a 6 month period and kept being reassured that it "didn't feel or look like cancer", until I finally pushed hard enough to get a biopsy after I found a swollen lymph node in June 2022. I got the results back a week later showing that I do in fact have Triple Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC) aka Breast Cancer. I was referred to an amazing cancer center and will start chemo very soon.

After some additional scans we have since learned that my cancer is metastatic, meaning it has spread, in my case to at least two other places in my body, my right hip socket and an adrenal gland. This means that my cancer is now considered stage IV and is technically incurable. There are some amazing new treatments that have come out in the past few years, and more coming through clinical trials, that are allowing some people to live many years with stage IV breast cancer as a chronic disease, and we have every hope that I will be one of them. I am young, and oddly enough people who are Stage IV at their initial diagnosis (called de novo) tend to have longer lifespans than those who are "cured" of breast cancer and then have it come back as Stage IV years later. The goal now is to kick the cancer's ass and get to a point where I am "NEAD" meaning No Evidence of Active Disease.

Unfortunately I will have to temporarily close my business while I undergo treatment. Many of you know how hard I worked to get Mountain Kids Playschool up and running, and I'm not giving up on it! My team is very hopeful that after my treatment is complete I will be able to reopen and I'm holding on tight to that.

This will not be an easy road for our family, but we are strong, I am strong, and we are staying strong in our faith, and our hope for effective treatment. I appreciate all the support, prayers, and love that you can send our way ❤